Business
US-Afghan Gov’ts failed to achieve Joint goals: SIGAR
Today, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John F. Sopko, testified before the United States House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Unfortunately, SIGAR’s cumulative work to date has shown that TFBSO’s nearly $800 million investment in Afghanistan has generally not delivered on its stated goals.
The compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station and a cashmere goat’s project are glaring examples of TFBSO activities SIGAR has examined that were ill-conceived, poorly planned, or left unfinished. Further, it appears that TFBSO’s activities in Afghanistan were stymied by
several avoidable problems and repeated mistakes from its Iraq experience that hindered Task Force operations and outcomes.
Inspector General Sopko noted that DOD’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) efforts in Afghanistan were marred by the absence of a clear strategy, a lack of consistent management and leadership, and a failure to coordinate with other U.S. government agencies.
TFBSO’s lack of strategic direction and inconsistent management resulted in a scattershot approach to economic development resulting in an $800 million investment in Afghanistan that has generally not delivered on its stated goals.
Mr. Sopko has stated that My testimony today will broadly discuss TFBSO’s challenges with project development, execution, and oversight, and, at the request of the Chairwoman, will focus on three TFBSO expenditures that illustrate these challenges:(1) nearly $150 million for private housing and private security guards for TFBSO personnel in Afghanistan; (2) $43 million for a CNG filling station; and (3) $6 million on a project to bolster Afghanistan’s cashmere industry..
Poor policy coordination in between the Afghan and US Governments have caused the following projects to be wasted in Afghanistan.
“Based on our previous reports published indicated that poor coordination in between the US- Afghan Government including the Ministry of Foreign affairs and USAID have caused that the following Governments failed to achieve the goals on extraction of mineral sources, Gas, Oil in Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John F. Sopko said,”
The following poor coordination in between the two Governments comes after that corruption in Afghanistan is huge challenges standing against the Afghan Government and International community.
Reported by Fahim Noori
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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